Millet recipes to tickle your taste-buds

After explaining how to cook millet I thought some millet recipes would help you to incorporate this healthy, gluten-free, grain into your diet.

Whether you are still eating the traditional meat and two veg meals, or if you are feeling a little more adventurous, there are many ways to substitute whole grains for the processed pastries, pastas and potatoes that have previously accompanied our meals. A serving of millet on the side, is a much healthier option, and it has a lovely nutty, savory taste too.

But there is more you can do with this little yellow grain! Go on, give it a try with the following millet recipes.

Millet, cheese and onion bake

One of my favourite millet recipes is this tasty bake (shown above), which is quick and easy to put together and then popped in the oven to finish cooking.

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 1 hour

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

raw millet; 1/2 cup

water; 2.5 cups

onions; 2 (chopped)

dried sage, thyme or marjoram; 1 teaspoon

milk; 1.25 cups

cheese; 2.5 cups (grated)

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Cook the millet until tender, which will take about 30 minutes.

Stir in the onions and herbs. Pour in the milk and add most of the grated cheese.

Lightly grease a shallow ovenproof dish, pour in the mixture.

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on the top and pop it in the oven for about half an hour at 180 degrees C until the top is golden brown.

Now wasn't that easy?

Millet dip or spread

I devised this versatile recipe when there was little left in the cupboard, or fridge, with which to produce an evening snack meal.

I didn't know how it would turn out, but that is half the fun of cooking for me; experimenting with good, wholesome ingredients. After the family gave it the thumbs up, it will definitely be repeated!

How to make Carol's Millet Dip

Leftover cooked millet

Cooked chickpeas (home cooked or tinned)

Ground Almonds

Milk (or almond milk)

I didn't measure the ingredients when creating this recipe, I just used what I had. But for those of you that need a bit more guidance, I would estimate that there were about equal quantities of the millet and chickpeas, and about half the amount of ground almonds.

Put the millet, chickpeas and almonds in a blender and blend together until smooth. During this process pour in a little almond milk at a time, until the dip/spread is the consistency you require. You might want to leave it a bit stiffer if you are going to use it as a spread.

How to serve

I served this spread thickly on hot toast. The spread itself is creamy enough that you do not need to use any butter or margarine on the toast first, helping to avoid those nasty, saturated fats. Trust me, you really won't notice that they are missing!

I warmed my spread up a little for 30 seconds in the microwave before spreading on the hot toast.

By adding the millet and pulses (chickpeas) the spread provided nutritious protein and tasted great.

I added a little more almond milk to what was left, and it made a wonderful dip for sticks of raw vegetables.